Dallas-Area Home Prices Rebound Slightly After Recent Declines

Home prices in the Dallas area were up 0.3% in September, according to the closely watched Case-Shiller report.

Dallas-area home prices turned slightly positive in a closely watched housing market measure — a turnaround from recent declines.

Dallas home prices in September were up a scant 0.3% from a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks the national housing market and prices in 20 metropolitan areas.

Nationwide, home prices were 3.9% higher year-over-year in the monthly estimates.

Dallas’ September price rebound follows a previous 1.7% annual price decline in the Case-Shiller report.

Home sales prices in North Texas have leveled off in recent months with small monthly increases and declines.

More than half of the major U.S. metro areas Case-Shiller follows had higher home prices from a year ago in the latest report. Nationwide, September prices were up 2.5% from August levels.

“U.S. home prices continued their rally in September 2023,” Standard & Poor’s Craig J. Lazzara said in the report. “We’ve commented before on the breadth of the housing market’s strength, which continued to be impressive.”

On a year-over-year basis, the three best-performing metropolitan areas in September were Detroit (+6.7%), San Diego (+6.5%), and New York (+6.3%), according to the report.

Metro areas that saw annual home price declines included Las Vegas (-1.9%), Phoenix (-1.2%), and Portland (-0.7%).

The Case-Shiller index is a three-month moving average that compares sales-price changes of specific properties over time.

“Speeding up of annual home price growth reflects much of the pent-up demand that exists in the housing market amid very low inventories,” CoreLogic chief economist Selma Hepp said in an email. “Also, recent robust price appreciation in some of the largest metro areas, such as Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Miami are contributing to overall strength of the national price surge and reflect continued migration patterns that motivate price trends in many parts of the country.

“Nevertheless, home prices are feeling the weight of high mortgage rates, which will slow the rate of price growth in the coming months.”

Dallas-Fort Worth home costs peaked last year and have seen little or no gains in 2023.

Median home sales prices in North Texas dipped below $400,000 in October — the lowest level since early 2023 and an annual decline of 1%.

Existing single-family home sales by real estate agents were down 7% year-over-year in October, according to the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems.

High mortgage rates this year have put a pinch on prospective homebuyers, causing a decline in sales and weaker pricing.

More than a quarter of houses listed for sale with North Texas real estate agents had seen price reductions as of October.

“Although this year’s increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed the quantity of homes sold, the relative shortage of inventory for sale has been a solid support for prices,” Lazzara said. “Unless higher rates or exogenous events lead to general economic weakness, the breadth and strength of this month’s report are consistent with an optimistic view of future results.”

Source: Dallas Morning News